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St John’s Church of England Primary in Keynsham has ended the academic year on a high with another Outstanding judgement in its church inspection.

The school, which is also rated Outstanding by Ofsted, retained the top grade following a visit by inspector Carolyn Banfield earlier this month (July).

She said the Christian values at St John’s were deeply embedded and had significant impact on behaviour, attitudes and achievement.

"St John’s has a strong church school identity. It has developed an excellent Christian character and positive ethos which is immediately apparent and permeates all aspects of school life," her report noted.

Mrs Banfield said the school had "a strong moral compass" in which everyone sought the good in one another. “The impact is demonstrated through the choices pupils make, their exemplary behaviour and clear and trusting relationships.”

The inspector highlighted the "powerful" logo, depicting Jesus as the lamb of God, the new "celebrate and learn together" strapline, the impact of collective worship and the creation of a new spiritual garden.

The inspection, known as a Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS), was the school’s first since it joined the Wellsway Multi Academy Trust in 2015. Mrs Banfield said in her report: "Membership of the WMAT is mutually beneficial. Leadership capacity has increased and expertise is readily shared, resulting in high expectations and the implementation of excellent practice."

The inspector was highly complimentary about the leadership and management of the school, noting that all staff were committed to an education of the highest quality. She also praised the governing body, the parish community and families for their support.

WMAT Director of Primary Dr Matthew Cottrell said the report was wonderful news and reflected the significant improvements the school had made in the past year under the leadership of Head of School Mark Hilliam.

"St John's is a very special place, where everyone lives the school's values every day, and it is gratifying that the inspector has recognised this," he said. Mr Hilliam was delighted with the outcome of the inspection, which followed a similar judgement in 2013.

"Mrs Banfield was particularly impressed with the children, who sung, prayed and spoke so well. She also praised the clear and distinctive ethos present in the school," he said.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the children, staff and parents who contributed so much to this shared outstanding judgement. We can all be proud of the spiritual and academic education we are providing for the children in our care."

A friendship bench dedicated to the memory of Malaysian air crash victim Ben Pocock forms the centrepiece of a new spiritual garden at St John’s Church of England Primary School in Keynsham.

The large carved wooden seat commemorates Ben, a former pupil of the school, who died in 2014.

The garden has been designed by former Year 6 teacher Vanessa Adnitt. Children have worked with parent and governor Claire Lowe and parent volunteers to build the garden and plant flowers and crops. Wood for the project was provided by Dave Williams, of Keynsham Timber, and Tim Mason, another parent.

Head of School Mark Hilliam said: "We are very grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to support the creation of this garden. The planters, trellises and friendship bench are beautiful and have helped to make a very special space, where children and staff can relax and reflect."

We are delighted to announce that from September 10th, Premier Sport will be running a breafast club every morning in the school hall. The club will run from 7:45am-8:45am, with breakfast served from 7:45am-8am. For more details please see the letter (Pdf, 93kb)

Please also note that this club is run entirely by Premier Sport and NOT the school office - thank you.

As wintry weather is forecast, we would like to advise you of the procedures the school will follow in the event of severe weather

A decision will be reached if the school is to close as soon after 7.00am as possible. All reasonable efforts will be made to ensure the school opens. The decision to close the school will be taken on the basis of the Health and Safety of the children and staff. The closure of the school will be logged on the B&NES school closures website.

A text will be sent to all parents, and details of the closure will be posted on the news page of the school website.

Please do not attempt to telephone the school

Should the school need to close during the school day all parents will be contacted by text message. Please ensure the school has the current mobile number for the main contact. Please ensure you collect your child, or make arrangements for another adult to collect your child, as soon as possible after receiving the text message.

Children can only be sent home if they are accompanied by an adult. Staff must be sure that parents of older children who come to school on their own are at home before they are allowed to leave school.

I am delighted to inform you that Mrs Southern is expecting her first child in June (Pdf, 88kb). Mrs Southern teaches Year 3 on Wednesday mornings and Thursdays and Fridays. Teaching cover for Mrs Southern will be arranged from after this May half term.

Children from our school visted St. John's church last week to decorate their very own tree. As you can see from the photos, many schools and organisations participated. The trees were on display over the weekend for the public to enjoy.

Look out for reindeers, stars and Christmas tree decorations made of lolly sticks!

On Monday 20th November, children and parents from St. John's braved the wind and rain to plant spring bulbs in the shape of a cross.

The flowers - a mixture of daffodils, crocuses and tulips - will form a beautiful focal point for our Spiritual Garden. Our thanks to all who came to take part after school. Special thanks also to Miss Vanessa Adnitt, who returned to organise the planting for us.

Henry Robson was the lucky recipient of a framed artist's impression of his shark picture.

Henry drew the picture for a library competition entry and was suprised with the framed artwork in assembly recently. The prize was presented by Ms Rowan Tanner, Family Development Officer for the library service.

Keynsham Foodbank thanks St John's for the donations from Harvest Service

St. John's held its traditional Harvest service today; a well attended event that is greatly enjoyed by the school community. As ever, there was a wonderful mixture of dancing, singing and poetry.

Thank you to all the children for making it so special, plus all the staff who made it happen. Finally a big thank you to all the parents who donated food to the Keynsham Food Bank or contributed to our collection for Christian Aid.

We are also very gratetful to Zest, our in-house caterers also made a wonderful harvest loaf for the occasion.

Posted: 9 June 2017

The Wellsway multi-academy trust is growing to include a larger family of schools. These exciting developments mean that Dr Cottrell will move into a full-time post as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the primary wing of the Trust.

Whilst he will remain the executive headteacher of St. John's, the school will be led on a daily basis by Mr Hilliam, who becomes Head of School. Mrs Bruton will become the new Deputy headteacher. Both posts are for one year. More information can be found in this letter (Pdf, 276kb).

Posted: 1 May 2017

Thank you to those that attended the Phonics screening check meeting held on Tuesday 25th April. I hope you found it useful. I explained what the Phonics screening check involves, if anyone has any questions or would like further advice for how to support their child then do not hesitate to come and see your child's class teacher.The children complete the week beginning 12th June.

Posted: 2 April 2017

On Friday your child was sent home with an important letter outlining some of the changes that the government is introducing in regards to school funding. Mrs Andrea Arlidge, Wellsway Multi Academy Trust CEO has written a letter to explain how this amounts to a funding crisis in education.

Today the children learnt about e-safety during our Safer Internet Day.

The day started with an assembly from Police Sergeant Gent, a parent and governor from the school. Children undertook a variety of activities during the day including colouring in their 'Smartie the Penguin' or 'Digi Duck' e-safety badges.

Mr Hilliam & Mrs Bruton gave a talk to parents about e-safety issues for children at home.

On Wednesday 7th December the children and staff of St. John's wore their Christmas jumpers for Christmas Jumper Day.

On Wednesday 7th December the children and staff of St. John's wore their Christmas jumpers for Christmas Jumper Day. In return for wearing their jumpers, everyone was encouraged to donate to Save The Children.